HOST CITIES ANNOUNCED FOR 2015 AND 2016 U.S. CHAMPIONSHIPS

U.S. Figure Skating announced today that Greensboro, N.C., and Saint Paul, Minn., have been named hosts to upcoming U.S. Championships.

Greensboro Coliseum Complex (photo courtesy Greensboro CVB)

The 2015 U.S. Championships in Greensboro are slated for Jan. 18-25, 2015, at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex. The event was last held in Greensboro in 2011. The Greensboro Coliseum is currently undergoing major renovations that are expected to be completed in time for the championships. For more information, please visit www.2015uschampionships.com.

The 2016 U.S. Championships in Saint Paul will take place Jan. 16-24, 2016, at Xcel Energy Center. The city of Saint Paul also hosted the 2008 U.S. Championships. Champions included 2010 Olympians Mirai Nagasu, Evan Lysacek and Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto. Please visit www.2016uschampionships.com for information.

Xcel Energy Center (photo by Sean Smuda)

The annual event, held since 1914, is the nation's most prestigious figure skating event, with past winners including Michelle Kwan, Kristi Yamaguchi and Scott Hamilton.

Champions will be crowned in ladies, men's, pairs and ice dancing at the senior, junior, novice, intermediate and juvenile levels of the U.S. Figure Skating competitive structure. The addition of the intermediate and juvenile levels to the U.S. Championships, which will begin at the 2013 U.S. Championships, will add approximately 100 competitors to the event.

"U.S. Figure Skating is excited to return to two great host cities for the 2015 and 2016 U.S. Championships," U.S. Figure Skating Executive Director David Raith said. "U.S. Figure Skating and its athletes, fans and officials had positive experiences in both Greensboro and Saint Paul. As we begin a new Olympic quad leading up to the 2018 Olympic Winter Games, we are confident those experiences will be even better."

The U.S. Championships, which serve as the final qualifying event to make the U.S. World Figure Skating Team and the U.S. Olympic Team every four years, annually attract more than 1,600 athletes, coaches and officials to the host community and has generated up to $30 million in economic impact for recent host cities.

Both events will be broadcast live on NBC and online at icenetwork.com.

The 2013 Prudential U.S. Figure Skating Championships are set for Jan. 20-27, 2013, in Omaha, Neb.